Many things have happened in the canon history of the FFVIII universe. Here we'll go over many of the major points of the canon storyline, before going on to the happenings 50 years after the event of the game, leading up to the current setting of the FF8RP. Needless to say, important stuff when you're building your character, or simply need to know world events!
FF8RP Timeline[]
Unknown Centuries Ago
The Great Hyne, became the absolute ruler of the world and creates humans as tools to do his bidding. He later attempts to quell the number of humans that existed but was defeated. He offers half of his body and power to humanity. A war between the humans start over control of the body-half. Eventually the Zebalga tribe emerge victorious but the body ignores their commands. It is later discovered that the body had no real power, it was merely his worthless skin, and the humans continued to hunt Hyne for centuries to come although they never find him.
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An unnamed Sorceress, accompanied by her Knight, Zefer, stands up for the sake of the people in a country at the time of its collapse.
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Around 4000 Years Ago
The time of the Centra civilization. Centra created two major empires: Dollet and Esthar. While Dollet began to excel in military force, Esthar grew scientifically advanced.
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150+ Years Ago
(Note: The game is inconsistent as to when this occurred, we are going with the concept that it happened over a hundred years prior to Final Fantasy VIII, as is backed up by the Ultimania guide.) The first recorded Lunar Cry strikes the center of the Centra civilization. It is utterly destroyed.
The Esthar people began rebuilding its scientific society, while Dollet splintered into diverse countries: Dollet, Galbadia, and Timber.
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68 Years Ago
Sorceress Adel begins her plans for world domination by starting the Sorceress War and meets heavy resistance from Galbadia.
Sorceress Adel discovered the existence of the Crystal Pillar, a stone from the Moon capable of reacting from a certain position on the Earth to cause a Lunar Cry. She ordered a special enclosure called Lunatic Pandora to be built around it.
Dr. Odine began experiments on magical beings known as Guardian Forces. He discovered that they can be Junctioned to human minds, which allowed people to use magic without having to resort to Limit Breaks. He dubbed this Para-Magic. He also studied the sorceresses' powers, and created Odine-brand jewelry which is capable of inhibiting those powers.
Galbadia begins its own bid for conquest and takes over Timber. The fathers of Zone and Watts are killed after Timber's capture. Zone and Watts take over leadership of the Forest Owls from their fathers. Soon, many rebel factions are created.
A number of scientists and researchers who were not happy with Esthar's actions, left to start their own town called Fishermans Horizon, dedicated to pacifism.
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67 Years Ago
Julia Heartilly wrote the song Eyes on Me. She later marries Fury Caraway of Galbadia and has a daughter whom they named Rinoa.
Sorceress Adel ordered the Esthar troops to search for any possible successors to her, whom she wishes to keep in her custody. Many girls were taken.
A movie based on the story of Zefer and his Sorceress is made. The crew was filming in Trabia Canyon, where they are unfortunately assailed by a real dragon.
Laguna Loire was elected President of Esthar, and decided to shut Esthar from the rest of the world; partly in penance for their war, partly because he believed the rest of the world was not ready for Esthar's scientific knowledge yet.
The Sorceress War ends.
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63 Years Ago
Cid and Edea created Garden The students/fighters raised there were called SeeDs. Cid received funding for the venture from NORG, a Shumi Villager. Three Gardens were set up: Balamb Garden, Trabia Garden, and Galbadia Garden. The Gardens were built over old Centra structures. NORG set himself up as the "Garden Master" and dwelled at the lowest level of Balamb Garden.
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62 Years Ago
Julia Heartilly is killed in a car accident.
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50 Years Ago
The events of Final Fantasy 8
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VIII
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40 years ago
In the decade following Squall and company saving the world from Ultimecia, there has been a slow, but steady recovery. Tensions remained high for some time, as many were reluctant to forget the actions, both good and bad, done by other nations.
Galbadia was looked at with great distrust in the following years, its military had taken some heavy losses due to its confrontations with Balamb Garden and its SeeD. They loosened their grip on the city of Timber, due to lacking the military might to enforce their rule. They found it easier to appease the people of the city, than risk another armed conflict.
Esthar had to evacuate little by little, and close parts of its city off and accept outside help because of the problems the Lunar Cry and mass monster inhabitance in their city. Other nations were quick to aid Esthar however much they could afford, in hopes of fostering a good relationship with a powerful ally in the future.
Dollet's military was decimated by the Galbadian attack they suffered 10 years ago, and in the years following, they began to foster a powerful sense of national pride. Slowly but surely, anti-Galbadian propaganda became a common sight within the city.
Fishermans Horizon witnessed an influx of refugees from other parts of the world, all seeking to escape the war and conflict that had claimed them of their homes. The city became significantly larger as a result. Many of the refugees came from Dollet and Esthar, though some people came from other places, simply seeking to escape the raising tensions.
The Gardens have all since returned to their original locations. Though tensions between Balamb and Galbadia Garden remained high, they both agreed to pool their resources to assist in the reconstruction of Trabia Garden, while also licking their own wounds. This cooperation and assistance has gradually begun to reduce the lingering resentment between the Gardens.
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35 years ago
Trabia Garden finished the last of their repairs, thanks to the combined effort of all three Gardens, as well as some assistance from the locals of Trabia. Rumors abound that some aid was provided by local criminal organizations.
Dollet began to build up their military to a respectable level once more, by instituting mandatory military service for all citizens between the ages of 18 to 21.
Timber's citizens, primarily its youth, began to show signs of flagrant disregard for Galbadia's rule and law. Military barracks and guard posts were regularly subject to graffiti, and Galbadian soldiers found themselves unable to be taken seriously, with small items being thrown at them as a common occurrence.
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30 years ago
Winhill’s monster population slowly dies down, though the reasoning behind it is unknown, locals have looked into it, and found nothing, or no sign that they might return, so with the boom of families in the area the mayor has decided to expand and build more houses and slightly larger local grocery markets for a growing town.
Esthar finally has been able to contain the monsters in their city, though large portions of the once-great city are currently sealed off and deemed uninhabitable, declared "Lost Zones", heavily infested with monsters. They have managed to set up proper defensive lines to keep the monsters from spreading any further, though efforts to reclaim the Lost Zones have been unsuccessful.
Tensions between Timber reached an all-time high when Galbadian soldiers began to regularly go missing within the city. Galbadia, having focused heavily on rebuilding its military in response to fears that Dollet was intending to launch an attack, began passing more restrictive laws concerning the city of Timber, and the guard presence there was doubled.
The three Gardens, hold a festival in honor of those lost during all the many battles 20 years ago, and also to celebrate the brave Garden personnel (and Rinoa... and Angelo) who fought to save the world from Ultimecia. In the following years, it becomes something of an annual holiday among members of all three Gardens.
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20 years ago
Galbadian military forces in the city of Timber are attacked by armed resistance fighters calling themselves the Forest Owls, the same name as the group previously lead by Zone and Watts. The group proclaims itself a continuation of that very same group, though Galbadian officials deny the claim profusely and insist they're merely terrorists posing as the Forest Owls.
Dollet's military has edged out and conquered, or in their words, 'unified' areas near their border, previously owned by Galbadia, several small conflicts have occurred between the two, but diplomats from both nations managed to strike a deal to end the conflict before it spiraled out of control. Still, tensions spike between the two as a result.
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5 years ago
Dollet has recently begun to turn their propaganda machine against the rest of the world, including Balamb Garden, insisting they only helped for profit, and provided no aid afterwards. The propaganda asserts that Dollet is the greatest nation in the world, and the other nations have always conspired against them. Many of the more left-wing members of Dollet society have defected to various other places, most notably Balamb Town and Fishermans Horizon. Despite the growing tension, they have not severed diplomatic or economic ties to other countries or to the Gardens, although the extent of said ties grow more and more limited.
Trabia has recently had a spike in organized crime, and there are rumors that it has to do with aid provided during the reconstruction of the Garden.
Current Events[]
- The Galbadian military is engaged in an ongoing conflict against the Timber resistance group calling themselves the Forest Owls. Tensions also remain high between them and the Dukedom of Dollet, though there has not been an armed conflict between the two in 20 years.
- Life has returned largely to normal within the Safe Zones of Esthar, though security to enter or leave the city has become heavily restricted. Large portions of the city are still classified as Lost Zones and run rampant with monsters.
- Tension rises continually between Dollet and the rest of the world, and many feel it is only a matter of time before a new war occurs. Other nations seam wary in their dealings with the Dukedom, not wanting to seem weak, but also not wishing another armed global conflict as the world has just barely recovered from the events of 50 years ago.
- The organized crime problem has only gotten worse in the last 5 years, and Trabia Garden, along with the local Trabian militia have their hands full trying to handle it.
- Fishermans Horizon has grown significantly larger now, and houses a significant number of refugees and people simply sick of war and conflict.
- Balamb Town has also grown in size over the past 50 years, as it has gained a reputation as 'the home of heroes' due to its relations with Balamb Garden, and many have moved there to enroll their children in Garden. Balamb has continued to avoid getting directly involved in international politics more than necessary. However, due to the mixed heritages and backgrounds of the many people who have moved there in the last 50 years, it has found itself home to some heated political debates among its people. Thankfully, these have yet to escalate into violence.
- Galbadia Garden has avoided becoming involved with the military conflicts of its home nation. There is somewhat of an internal debate amongst its population about the direction it should take. Some feel their loyalty lies with their homeland, while others are wary of politics, pointing to what happened the last time Galbadia Garden aligned itself with the Galbadian military. It has, however, continued to produce many recruits for the Galbadian military, and holds a strong diplomatic and business relationship with them.